The shrill ring of Alex's phone woke her up at two the next afternoon. She and Marissa stayed up all night and finally went to sleep four hours ago.
She blindly reached for her phone and grabbed it, flipping it open and sleepily answered, "What?…who?…Today is my day off Demar…I know…But…Fuck, why?…didn't you pay the bill?…then stay closed…Seriously?…Fine." Alex angrily snapped her phone shut.
"Who was it?" Marissa mumbled into her pillow which happened to be Alex's stomach.
"Work," Alex sighed.
"Stay," Marissa shook her head.
Alex fought to keep her eyes open, "I can't. The power went out at work. I have to direct the salvage."
"But," Marissa finally opened her eyes and looked at the blonde, "I have to leave tonight."
Alex stroked Marissa's long brown locks and thought for a moment, "You can come with me and sleep on the couch in my office. Then afterwards we can go out on a date."
"Mmm," Marissa closed her eyes again and kissed the blonde's bare stomach, "Okay."
They both slowly got dressed and Alex drove them to work, the cold water she splashed on her face the only thing keeping her awake enough to drive. When she finally parked in parking lot of the club, Marissa was asleep in the seat next to her.
"Wake up baby," Alex leaned over and stroked Marissa's cheek.
Marissa's eyes fluttered open, "We're here?"
Alex chuckled and nodded.
Marissa kissed Alex before she had a chance to get away. Alex felt Marissa start to deepen the kiss and reluctantly pulled away because she knew they could stay in the Jeep for an extended make out session for almost an hour.
"C'mon," Alex sighed, "Let's go get you to lay down."
Marissa sleepily nodded and slid out of the Jeep.
Once Marissa was settled in Alex's office with the door closed, Alex slowly walked down the stairs. "What happened?" Alex demanded of the club's owner and the present staff.
"Someone was digging a hole for their pool and cut the grounding lines," Demar explained, "The electric company said they'll have it fixed by tomorrow."
"So why am I here?" Alex asked, obviously aggravated.
"I'm just the money and the handy man," Demar admitted, "You're the brains kid."
"Number one," Alex pointed at him, "Don't call me kid." She looked around at the group of other people who were standing around, "Half of you take inventory of what we have in the coolers. Do not open them. At all. For any reason. They have glass fronts for a reason. The other half go to the nearest store and buy as much ice as you can and a bunch of those little kid pools with the palm trees on it. Obviously we're going to have to close before it get's dark so hurry and tell everyone you see we're opening at three."
The group dispersed and Alex rubbed her eyes. She looked at Demar, "You need to go to the storage room and get out the fake palm trees. We're having a Hawaii night so any sand you might have handy would be great."
Demar nodded, "You're a genius."
"You remember that when it's time for you to write my paycheck," Alex smirked and walked off.
She quietly entered her office as to not wake the sleeping girl on the couch. Alex smiled when she saw Marissa sprawled over the entire couch. As much as Alex wanted to lay down, she couldn't bring herself to wake Marissa and ask her to move over so she sat behind her best and laid her head back.
A few minutes later there was a knock on her door before it opened. Alex's head shot up when one of the bouncers walked in her office. "Hey Alex," he said.
She shot him a death glare and pointed to Marissa. She walked over to him, and pulled him out of the office, "If you wake her up I will throttle you."
"Sorry," he whispered, "What do you want us to do with the kiddie pools?"
"Inflate them and fill them with the ice," she explained, "Then put all the beer that's already in the coolers in the pools. Clear off the counter behind the bars and put the pools up there. Then go help Demar with the rest of the decorations."
He nodded and walked off.
Alex walked back in her office and closed the door again. She looked at Marissa who was still fast asleep. She looked around the room and saw one of her jackets folded on the end of the couch. She unfolded it and laid it over her girlfriend's torso. She smiled at how adorable her girlfriend was then softly kissed Marissa's cheek.
At three people slowly started to arrive and before anyone knew it the club was packed. Alex was in a daze behind the bar but still managed to keep up with the orders. She kept glancing at the door of her office to see if Marissa was awake. It was definitely getting loud and she knew that whatever you could hear on the dancefloor, a muted version was playing in the office.
Soon Alex knew she either needed to sleep or she was going to pass out on her feet. She looked over at Tori, "I need to...um…"
"Go to sleep," Tori smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Thanks Tori," Alex tiredly smiled back.
Just as she reached for the door of her office, it opened. Marissa stopped where she was and smiled, "Hey babe."
"Hey," Alex smiled.
"You look exhausted," Marissa touched Alex's cheek, "Lay down please."
Alex nodded and fell on the couch.
Marissa knelt next to Alex, "I had an idea right after I woke up and I need your keys. I'll be back."
The blonde raised an eyebrow, but pulled the Jeep keys out of her pocket, "Okay."
"Thanks," Marissa kissed Alex, "Sleep well. I'll be back later."
Alex finally let her eyes close and pulled her jacket over her head.
A few hours later, Alex's eyes fluttered open. It was pitch dark in her office. She looked around and didn't seen anyone move so apparently Marissa was still gone. She sighed and decided to see if anyone was still at the bar. So she wouldn't bump into anything she pulled the phone out of her pocket and used the light from the screen to find her way to the door. When she opened it, a soft glow filled the room.
Her mouth dropped open and her pocketed her phone. There were white candles all over place. A mass of them were placed on the bar and the rest were scattered in a U-shape around a blanket laid out in the middle of the dance floor. Soft music was coming out of the massive speakers and Marissa was standing on the blanket.
The brunette looked over at Alex and smiled, "Did you sleep okay?"
Alex nodded and walked over to Marissa, "What's this?"
"It's our date," Marissa smiled. She walked over to her girlfriend and softly kissed her. She started to pull away, but Alex deepened the kiss. She felt Marissa hold onto her waist so she wrapped her arms around Marissa's neck.
The need for air became a problem so they had to pull away. Alex glanced around again, "Riss, this is…wow."
"That's what I was going for," Marissa took Alex's hand and lead to her to the blanket. Alex noticed a Styrofoam container on the blanket. Marissa sat down and Alex followed her lead.
When Marissa opened the container Alex smiled, "My favorite."
"I know," Marissa picked up the plastic fork out of the container.
Alex took a bite of the pasta covered in alfredo and date back with a "Mmm." She handed Marissa the fork and she took a bite. Soon the pasta was gone and the two were engaged in a heated make out session.
"Alex?" Marissa asked, looking up at her girlfriend from her laying position on the blanket.
"Yeah?" Alex smiled sweetly at her girlfriend.
Marissa bit her lip and touched Alex's hair. Her voice came out barely over a whisper, "I love you."
Alex studied Marissa for a moment, "Really?"
The brunette bit her lip and nodded., "Definitely."
"I love you too," Alex replied.
Marissa replayed with Alex just said in her head. The way she said it made Marissa know it was true and not just the obligatory response. She caught Alex's lips and held the blonde tight against her feeling that everything right then was perfect.